betta still not eating

[eja0913]

i bought a new betta fish from Petsmart last Tuesday, and he still isn't eating his food. i know it takes a few days for them to adjust but i'm starting to get nervous. he's in a gallon tank, with fresh spring water. he SEEMS like he is doing fine, still very wiggley and curious when someone approaches his tank. any suggestions on how to get him eating? i've been dropping an occasional betta pellet (those tiny little food balls) to see if he will eat it, but he looks at it and swims away.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Try a flake food, or live food, sometimes a change is needed as they dont like/ are not used to pellets

 

[Feline]

Welcome to the forum!

What's the water parameters like, like ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? Is there a heater in the tank?

 

[FrEaKiNhippie13]

Hey Eja welcome! I wouldn't worry just yet, i have a blue crowntail i had bought at the fair, and he refused my food for almost 3 weeks. I tried blood worms, betta pellets, and tubifex worms and nothing. Then finally he started accepting the bloodworms and finally the pellets. Then he decided to eat his tank buddy the ghost shrimp. haha So it took almost a month to get his appetite going, and now he's one happy betta so i wouldnt get nervous yet, just keep trying with the food.

 

[eja0913]

hey everyone i meant to post on the newbie forum and introduce myself, but my ISP decided to quit working awhile ago... anyway, i honestly don't know about ammonia levels and such, because it's just a simple little tank with a filter. i put in bottled spring water from the store. there's no heater either. my last betta lasted almost 2 years in those conditions and he was perfectly happy, so i assume that this one will be fine as well..

 

[eja0913]

thank you Freakin, that makes me feel better!

 

[FrEaKiNhippie13]

No problem, also i used to use spring water but it was somehow making my tank cloudy so i switched to freshwater and drops of conditioner to get rid of the harmful chemicals in the tap water. That seems to have helped the cloudiness in my tank, im not sure if your having that same problem. lol

 

[MerryCat]

Maybe you could try temptin him with some live food? Ghost shrimp and apple snail eyes seem to be quite popular etnres, from what I hear

 

[Jayderana]

You could try asking Petsmart what they fed him while he was there. I know that some petstores around here chose to feed their bettas live brine shrimp and they only begrudingly accept pellets. When I have a picky eater and I have had a couple... i fed them freeze dried foods (brine shrimp and daphnia) but knowing that sometimes to much can cause digestive issues I kept on trying pellets...and eventually when they settled in they began to readily accept them. I have one female that eats pellets only when I hand feed them to her otherwise she pays them no mind at all....how sweet bettas can be Congratulations on your new one. Just like Freakinhippie13 said there is no need for worry yet if he is active I am sure he will come around when he is ready.

 

[eja0913]

thanks for all the advice. i might have to try that with the water, because sometimes the spring water gets kinda cloudy before it's time to change it on the regular schedule... and i am going to Petsmart tomorrow, so we will see what they say about what they feed them. i'm gonna look for some live critters for my betta to (hopefully) munch on.